Accommodation and storage of crockery



Dec. 29, 1953 KOCH 2,664,193

ACCOMMODATION AND STORAGE OF CROCKERY Filed June 18, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Otto h oclL Dec. 29, 1953 0, oc 2,664,193

ACCOMMODATION AND STORAGE OF CROCKERY Filed June 18, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 29, 1953 ACCOMMODATION AND STORAGE OF CROCKERY Otto Koch, Selb-Ploesberg (Oberi'rankenL Germany, assignor to Rosenthal -Porzellan A. G., Selb (Oberfranken), Germany, a German firm Application June 18, 1951, Serial No. 232,084

' 4 Claims. 1

With the generally prevailing lack of space the accommodation and storage of crockery (dinner, cofiee, tea services and the like) becomes more and more difiicult, whether in the house and kitchen or in hotels and inns. Even in hospitals, convalescent homes, works canteen kitchens and other establishments for public catering there is an urgent need for limitating the amount of space to be allotted to the storage of crockery. In addition to the problem of stacking crockery so as to take up as little space as possible there is the further problem of carrying out the stacking in such a manner that the articles must be stored so as to be readily accessible and not exposed to the danger of being damaged. The latter is of special importance in the case of utensils made of ceramic and consequently breakable material.

These problems are solved by the present inven- 'tion, according to which a receptacle of special shape is provided containing hollow utensils stacked one within the other in such a manner that the internal space of the receptacle is utilised as fully as possible, whilst the external space required is reduced to a minimum.

. The drawings illustrate by way of example embodiments of the invention.

Fig. l'shows in the left hand half a stack in side elevation and the right hand half in vertical section.

' Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a closed receptacle containing a portion of the stack or pile illustrated in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a similar view as Fig. 2 the receptacle being opened, I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the upper part -of a jug adapted to be inserted into the receptacle, Fig. 5 shows in vertical section through Fig. 4 the pouring out operation, the jug being open, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view as Fig. 5, the jug being closed.

The entire pile of crockery is accommodated in a receptacle (Figs. 2 and 3) formed by a cylindrical part I which is divided in the vertical central plane and is adapted to hinge open and can be held together by means of a clasp m. At the bottom end of the cylindrical part is fixed a bottom 11, whilst at the top a centrally divided cover plate 0 is fixed.

The pile itself which is illustrated at a larger scale in Fig. 1 is arranged so that the flat utensils form the lower part of the pile, which is formed by the pieces being simply placed on one another.

.under the flange i of the jug e.

The plates forming each group are of the same size. The plate diameters of the three groups are different. The size of plate decreases in the pile from group to group from the bottom to the top. The deep plates are at the bottom and the flat plates at the top.

On the pile of flat utensils is placed the pile of hollow utensils. This pile consists of a number of .bowls or basins it placed one in the other plates a, b, c.

and of a jug e inserted in the pile of bowls, which jug contains a number of superposed inverted cups 1 and is provided with a lid 9.

The bowls d are all of the same shape and, as regards size, decrease uniformity in diameter whilst their upper rims, when they are stacked, are stepped down from the outside to the inside. The cups f, some of the same size and some of different sizes, are inverted one over the other. The smaller cups are at the bottom of the pile and the larger ones at the top. All the cups are without handles. I v I I The jug 6 completely encloses the pile of cups the jug is itself without a handle, so that it will stand in the pile of bowls without requiring additional space. The jug lid g is a hollow body and with its lower part h engages in a known manner The lid 9 is further provided with a locking device of a known kind (not shown in the drawing), which holds the lid which is rotatable on the jug in a certain position.

On the upper side of the lid 9 is a bow-shaped handle it which replaces the handle of the jug cides with the vertical plane through the spout of the jug. This position of the handle indicates that the lid is in thelocked position.

The arrangement of the handle onthe upper side of the lid makes the jug easy to handle, presents a pleasing appearance, avoids giving the jug excessive height and serves two purposes in use: for carrying the jug and for establishing the closure of the lid.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 3 the pile consists of a set of china pieces comprising the jug e, cups without handles stacked in it, a bowl d and plates 0. v

The plate 0 forming the cover of the receptacle has in the middle joint two pairs of recesses 12 which are so arranged and dimensioned that the carrying handle is can extend through them.

The pile of flat utensils consists of the groups of 56 As will be seen from the drawing, the high,

narrow construction of the cylindrical part I corresponds to the shape and dimensions of the pile of crockery. The cylindrical contour of the part 1 is adapted to the round shape of the pile. In height the pile of crockery and the cylindrical part correspond to one another, the pile placed on the bottom n reaching with the jug lid 9 to the cover plate c and the handle it extending outwardly through the recesses 12.

The pile of crockery is placed in the opened container so as to rest on the bottom 11. (Fig. 3). The container is then closed and locked by means of the clasp m. When being closed, the pairs of recesses will come together and engage round the handle is with only a'slight clearance. The container will then appear as in Fig. 2. The handle it may then be grasped and the container with its contents carried.

The jug 6 may be provided with an open spout q of a shape which prevents the contents from overflowing when they are being poured out. Forming an extension of the groove r for supporting the lid there is provided at the spout a moulding s which bridges over the interior of the spout. This bridging piece is placed lower than the rim of the spout in such a manner that in the vertical direction it forms an intermediate step between the edge 1 of the groove and lateral edges t of the spout, so as to lie about at the same height as the pouring-out edge or lip u of the spout.

Owing to this arrangement a pouring-out action is obtained, such as that illustrated in Figs. and 6.

When the completely filled jug is brought into the inclined position (the position when pouringout), the liquid will flow not only under the bridging piece s through the space 12 of the spout and over the lip u, but also over the bridging piece s. As the bridging piece s lies lower than the side edges t of the spout, the liquid will flow over the bridging piece s and combine in the pouring-out region with the flowof liquid leaving the jug below the bridging piece s, when it will flow out over the lip u of the spout in a regulated stream (Fig. 5).

When the jug is closed with the lid g, the overflowing liquid will be forced through between the groove r of the jug and the rim w of the lid, since in ceramic ware no lid will fit so tightly that there would not be sufficient space for the liquid to run through. When the liquid forcing its way outwards between the groove 1' and the lid edge w reaches the part 3- bridging the spout, it will flow over it and (as in the case of the uncovered jug) will be guided towards the lip u by the lateral edges t of the, spout, which extend beyond the bridging piece s.

What I claim is:

1. A device for the storage and transport of crockery comprising, in combination, a pile of crockery consisting of a plurality of fiat and hollow utensils placed inside one another, a jug inserted into the uppermost utensil and having a lid provided with bow-shaped handle and a number of cups arranged within said jug and piled on one another, and a receptacle adapted to receive said pile of crockery consisting of two half cylinders of a shape corresponding to the height and form of the complete pile and being hinged to be capable of being opened and closed and provided at the top with a cover plate which has recesses for said bow-shaped handle which serves the purpose of a carrying handle for the receptacle.

2. A device for the storage and transport of crockery as claimed in claim 1, said receptacle being provided with an undivided bottom portion fastened to one of said half cylinders.

3. A receptacle for the transport and storage of crockery including a stacked pile of dishes and a jug with a handle at the top which comprises the top article of the pile, comprisinga receptacle in the form of a cylinder divided longitudinally in half sections with the two halves hinged to each other, and a cover in the form of two half portions one secured to each half section, each cover portion having a pair of spaced recesses projecting inwardly from the diameter edge of the cover portion through which the handle of the jug projects. when the cylindrical receptacle is closed whereby the spaced recesses of the cover portion cooperate with each other to form slotted openings through which the handle projects and the latter acts as a carrying means for the receptacle.

4. A receptacle for the transport and storage of crockery according to claim 3, in which a bottom portion is provided as a circumferential disc secured to one of the half sections and on which the pile of crockery rests.

OTTO KOCH.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 151,246 Schreiber May 26,, 1874 281,132 Points July 10, 1883 561,756 Baxter June 9,, 1896 1,194,466 Berg Aug. 15,1916

FOREIGN PATENTS.

Number Country Date 77,484 Austria Aug. 11, 1919 262,353 Great Britain Dec. 9', 1926 433,499 Great Britain Aug. 15, 1935 481,815 Germany Aug. 29, 1929 531,147 Germany Aug. 5-, 1931 

